Grizzard survey: Most consumers do not shop around

More than half of American consumers (62 percent) do not compare prices at two or more bricks-and-mortar stores before making most purchase decisions, according to a survey commissioned by direct marketing firm Grizzard Performance Group.

The survey results also showed that for those who researched options and decided to purchase a particular brand of product via the Internet, nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) would consider purchasing a comparable brand if they received a direct response offer of a 15 percent discount for the comparable brand, despite their research.

"These survey findings underscore the time famine experienced by American consumers," said W. Michael King, group vice president of the Grizzard Performance Group in Atlanta.

As a result, marketers today have to be smarter than ever to connect with consumers at the point of consideration, he said.

The study surveyed 13,260 consumers using the national 2006 ConsumerStyles database. The survey was fielded May through June 2006.

The Grizzard Performance Group is an enterprise within Grizzard Communications Group, one of the top 10 direct marketing firms in the United States and a part of Omnicom Group.

Further analysis from the Grizzard survey showed that respondents are passive bargain-shoppers, waiting for the sale to come to them. While about half will wait for products to go on sale, most do not actively comparison-shop.

Other findings from the study include:

Significantly more African American and Hispanic respondents said they would be very likely to use a direct mail offer, compared to white respondents (18 percent, 15 percent and 10 percent respectively).

Twice as many respondents ages 18-24 said they would be very likely to use a direct mail offer compared to those ages 45 and older (18 percent versus 9 percent, respectively).

The majority (85 percent) do not give advice about what to buy, where to shop, places to visit or restaurants to try.

Sixty-three percent believe generic products are usually just as good as brand-name products.